Duane Egan
3579 Middle Road
Columbia Falls, MT 59912
duane.egan@outlook.com
Tel. 406-892-3621
Date: 1 Sep 2025
Flathead County Board of Commissioners
800 S Main St, Room 302
Kalispell, MT 59901
Subject: Persistent Statutory Noncompliance and Intent to Escalate Oversight
Dear Commissioners,
Re: Planning and Zoning Office Community Decay Complaint No. FCD-21-26
I am writing to you not only as a citizen, but as someone who has spent considerable time and effort dealing with what appears to be repeated failures to comply with Montana law. I have given you multiple opportunities to address these concerns responsibly, and each has been ignored. This silence is not simply discourteous—it appears inconsistent with your statutory obligations.
Specifically:
Montana Code Annotated 7-4-2110 Supervision of county and other officers. The board of county commissioners has jurisdiction and power, under the limitations and restrictions that are prescribed by law, to:
(2) “see that the officers faithfully perform their duties.”
This law requires the Board of County Commissioners to “superintend the official conduct of all county officers.” I have pointed out to you previously that the Planning and Zoning Department may not be interpreting the Community Decay Ordinance No. 6 abatement rules properly. I have provided data and evidence in this regard and I have requested a meeting with you (see email to you dated 8/13/2025), to discuss this issue, but you have not responded. Instead, we see an unchecked Planning and Zoning Office that has allowed at least 39 Community Decay complaints to remain unresolved, some for several years. This suggests a failure to properly supervise the Planning and Zoning Department and the County Attorney’s Office. In my view, this is inconsistent with MCA 7-4-2110(2).
I also pointed out to you, in a 28 January 2025 letter, that the Flathead County Attorney was not abiding by MCA 2-6-1006, and you did not take steps to verify my observation or respond to my letter. I believe this reflects a lack of compliance with MCA 7-4-2110.
MCA 2-6-1006. Public information requests — fees.
(2) Upon receiving a request for public information, a public agency that is not an executive branch agency shall respond in a timely manner to the requesting person by:
(a) making the public information maintained by the public agency available for inspection and copying by the requesting person;
MCA 2-6-1006 guarantees citizens a timely response to Public Records Requests. I personally delivered such a request to your office on May 12, 2025 regarding Complaint FCD-21-26. That request has been ignored. In my judgment, this is inconsistent with the statute and undermines public trust in county government.
I must be clear: this is more than poor administration. It represents a serious breakdown in statutory compliance and oversight. These are not abstract legal terms—they describe precisely the impact on this community when its leaders do not meet their legal obligations or respond to citizens acting in good faith.
This leaves me no choice but to pursue oversight from outside the county. Unless you immediately demonstrate compliance with MCA 7-4-2110 and MCA 2-6-1006, I will submit a formal request to the Montana Legislative Audit Division and the Legislative Audit Committee to conduct a performance audit of this Board. That audit would not only make these issues a matter of public record, it could lead to actions by the Montana Attorney General as well as legislative reforms designed to prevent commissioners from disregarding their duties in the future.
I urge you to consider the seriousness of this matter. You can continue as before, or you can take corrective action now—restore proper supervision, enforce the ordinances on the books, and honor your obligations under Montana’s public records law. If you refuse, you should understand that I am prepared to use every lawful remedy available, including audit requests, public exposure, and, if warranted, referral to the Flathead County Sheriff for investigation of potential violations under MCA 45-7-401 (Official Misconduct).
Respectfully,
Duane Egan
Filename: Letter to Flathead County Commissioners B.docx